DbcultAccessing Vault...
Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
So, is this ancient 1933 anime actually worth your time today? If you love weird animation history and don't mind some seriously screechy, old-school sound, yes absolutely. 🍿
But if you get annoyed by outdated husband-and-wife jokes, you should probably skip it.
The premise is simple enough. This poor guy is completely terrified of his massive wife, who is apparently six feet tall and built like a sumo wrestler. 😮
To escape his misery, he starts having an affair with a cute typist at his office. It's classic 1930s office drama, but with drawings.
The animation has this jittery, hand-drawn energy that feels so alive. In some ways, the chaotic household scenes remind me of the messy kid energy in Forgotten Babies.
The absolute funniest part is how he catches himself. He literally talks in his sleep and spills the *whole damn tea* to his wife while snoring.
His wife's reaction face is priceless. The animators made her eyes look like dinner plates.
The voice acting by Roppa Furukawa is so loud and expressive. He sounds like he's constantly on his third cup of black coffee.
There's this one scene where the wife is just looming over him in bed. The scale is so hilariously off—she looks like a literal giant from a fantasy film. 👹
It's a shame the audio quality is so scratchy, but hey, it was 1933. It's like watching a moving comic strip with a megaphone attached to it.
The final confrontation at the office is pure chaos. Everyone starts running around, and the poor typist looks like she wants to melt right into the wooden floor.
It doesn't have the beautiful colors of something like The Toll of the Sea, but the harsh black-and-white contrast works wonders for the physical comedy.
I love how the four kids are just sort of... there. They have no real purpose other than to make the house feel more crowded and noisy.
Sometimes the animation gets so fast that it's hard to tell who is hitting who. But that's part of the charm, honestly.
Anyway, it's a super quick watch if you ever get the chance to find a reconstruction or clips. Just don't expect a modern masterpiece, and you'll have a good time.
